Harry Potter and Raising Him Right
by J.C. Lynn
Summary: When young Harry's parents are tragically murdered, his young godfather must step in and raise him to the best of his ability. Suitable for most ages but rated T as there may be mild cussing in later chapters. No pairings till later on. Most definitely Harry/Ginny
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and JK Rowling is a genius for creating the series.**

Being a father was something Sirius Black had not been quite prepared for. It had been five years since little Harry had come into the world and changed his life forever. Two of his best friend, James and Lily Potter had tragically died at the hands of the Dark Lord that had held a dark position over the magical world up until then. The Dark Lord had attempted to kill their child Harry who at the time was merely one but for some unknown reason, the Dark Lord failed. Two terrible and two good things came out of that night. Terrible: the deaths of Lily and James and therefore the death of Harry James Potter's wonderful parents. Good: The survival of young Harry and the mysterious disappearance of the Dark Lord after his failed attempt at murdering Harry. Little Harry had no physical shy a small lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Sirius was the godfather to Harry and was more than willing to take in the sweet boy.

One thing desperately bothered Sirius though. The Potter's had been in hiding for some time from the Dark Lord and only a select few knew of there whereabouts including himself, his other best friend, Remus Lupin, the headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry and also the head of the Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore, and Peter Pettigrew who was also a friend. Sirius had ruled out Remus immediately as he had been just as shocked by the death. Dumbledore had been the next ruled out as he vehemently despised the Dark Lord and would in no way be speaking to him much less ratting out members of the Order he created to defeat the Dark Lord a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, You-Know-Who, and/or He Who Must Not Be Named. That left Pettigrew.

Sirius was furious. He wanted to kill Pettigrew immediately but a small part of his brain was screaming that he couldn't afford to be imprisoned and leave Harry all alone. So he went to Dumbledore in a rage. Dumbledore went to the Ministry and Peter Pettigrew was quickly imprisoned.

Since then Sirius has been able to focus his attention on Harry. Remus quickly became a helpful babysitter and Dumbledore made periodic visits to check in on the two (mostly Harry). Sirius and Harry stayed in Remus' house for nearly four months while Sirius' childhood home, now empty after the passing of Sirius' mother, underwent great renovation as the home had once housed very evil member's of the Black family, Sirius being the exception. The home had been full of dark artifices, moving and speaking paintings of Black descendants, the heads of previous house elves owned by the Black family, and had a general gloomy feel. Still, 12 Grimmauld Place was hidden from all those that did not have permission to be there and therefore prevented anyone from harming The Boy Who Lived through an attack from You-Know-Who. So things were thrown out, walls turn down, and the entire house gutted and redone with modern fixtures and bright colors.

After that Harry and Sirius had been able to settle into a daily life. Sirius had a bit of a go at setting limits for Harry to ensure he didn't turn into some sort of prat but Remus was able to help him form simple and fair rules for the boy and Harry continued to grow into a kind yet brave boy but he did seem to have a small mischievous habit but he always meant well enough.

Another great factor in Harry's life became the Weasley family, the parents (Molly and Arthur) were active members of the Order of the Phoenix and had a son right around Harry's age named Ron. Ron and Harry had instantly hit it off and Harry spent a lot of time at the Weasley's house which was fine with the Weasley's despite the fact that they had seven children in total. The red headed family loved the small black haired boy with the bright green eyes.

Sirius had plenty of inherited money from the Black fortune and could devote his full attention to Harry. Sirius could never be James and Lily but fully intended to be a good godfather to Harry, raise him right, and have a bit of fun along the way.

**Harry at age 8**

"Padfoot! Padfoot!" Harry called excitedly as he ran down the stairs to the simple red living room with large windows to find Sirius reading the _Daily Prophet._

"Hey, pal," Sirius greeted happily as he sat down the popular wizarding newspaper. Sirius was rather tall with unruly black hair and bright grey eyes.

"Let's go flying! Come on! You said we'd go today," Harry insisted and Sirius chuckled lightly.

"Sure thing but maybe you should change and we'll eat breakfast first," Sirius suggested.

Harry looked down at the white footy pajamas he was wearing and blushed. "Oh, right. I'll be right back!" He exclaimed as he ran back up the stairs to the amusement of Sirius who then went into the brightly lit kitchen to cast a few cooking spells that Mrs. Weasley had taught him and soon a simple breakfast of pancakes and bacon were made and he was sitting at the wooden breakfast table, sipping tea and awaiting Harry. Sirius used to have an inherited house elf called Kreacher who would have cooked for him but Kreacher had detested Sirius and the feeling was mutual so Sirius had gave up control of Kreacher and the elf now worked as one of the many cooks at Hogwarts.

"Do I smell pancakes?" Harry asked as he came into the kitchen now dressed in jeans and and a short sleeved green t-shirt.

"You do," Sirius replied. "Eat up, we have a long day."

"We do?" Harry immediately sat down and dove into his pancakes.

"Mhm. I was thinking we could fly to Diagon Alley and get you some new clothing." Harry made a face at the idea of clothes shopping and Sirius continued, "Then we could stop for lunch and maybe a quick trip to the ice cream parlor."

"Yay!" Harry immediately perked up.

"But," Sirius added. "Only if you behave while we shop for clothes. No complaining." Harry thought this over for a few moments before saying,

"Okay, Padfoot." They quickly finished breakfast and were soon mounting Sirius' broom. Sirius was letting Harry take control as he was already quite good at flying but Sirius was paying close attention just in case he needed to take over. Once at Madam Malkin's, which was the best place for clothes in Diagon Alley, Harry held true to his word and did not complain about having to shop for clothes. He did groan a few times but when Sirius warned him to stop, he did.

Truthfully, Harry was in need of new clothing. He didn't grow very fast but he was fairly active outside, running around with Ron which made his clothes quickly get stains and holes. In total, they bought two new pairs of jeans, three t-shirts (one red, one black, and one purple), a pair of blue pajamas, and a new casual black robe.

Harry was relieved when the shopping was over and they could eat lunch at The Leaky Cauldron where Harry enjoyed a ham sandwich with chips and a glass of pumpkin juice. The two then enjoyed vanilla ice cream cones before heading home. The day was great but it was at home that the day took a turn. They were both in the living room, the radio playing music with the volume set low.

"Harry, I want to talk to you," Sirius began from the light brown couch, interrupting Harry who was practicing Lumos on a toy wand only capable of the spells 'Lumos' which made the wands tip illuminate light and 'Accio' which was a summoning charm to bring desired items towards you.

"About what?" Harry asked as he moved to the couch.

"Well, the bi-annual family dinner is coming up-" Harry let out an audible groan. What Sirius was referring to was a gathering of the Malfoy family and all distant relatives and as we Sirius was first cousins with Narcissa Malfoy who was married to Lucius Malfoy, they had attended the last several yearly dinners. Honestly, Harry was also loosely cousin's with the family as well but he had tried not to dwell on that. He did not like the family much at all even though Sirius insisted on Harry socializing with them and being pleasant. The family was push and a bit snobby.

"Aw, Sirius. Do we have to go _again?_"

Sirius sighed. "Yes, Harry. There was a time when I most certainly did not like the Malfoy's but in the last few years they've really tried to make a go of being decent people."

"They're not doing a very good job," Harry muttered indignantly.

"Harry," Sirius abdomished. "Don't speak about people like that. They are trying to make the effort to do better and be kind to us and therefore we should make an effort to meet them halfway. I don't want to hear you saying rude things like that. Understand?"

Now it was Harry's turn to sigh. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Sirius forgave. "Besides, it wouldn't do you harm to make friends with their son." Narcissa and Lucius had a son his age named Draco.

"But we went to the last one," Harry tried.

"And we_ are _going to this one," Sirius confirmed.

"Fine," Harry conceded with a huff. "When is it?"

"Next Friday. Oh, and you'll be staying at the Weasley's on this Sunday." This made Harry a bit happier. He loved the Weasley's and his best friend Ron.

"How come?"

"I have a meeting with Dumbledore that night."

"Oh okay."

That Sunday, Sirius floo'd Harry to the Weasley's around four o'clock. Harry was immediately outside with Ron. They two ran around for a little while before settling under a tree with a few chocolate frog candies.

"So," Ron said with a mouth full of chocolate. "He's really making you go?"

Harry nodded. "Yep. I don't think it's fair. He wants me to make friends with Draco."

Just then Mrs. Weasley called them in for dinner and they ran towards the large house. Once inside Ron said,

"That's crazy," as Mrs. Weasley wiped the two boys down with a wet rag.

"What are you two talking about?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"The Malfoy family dinner," Harry said as a thought popped into his head. "Hey, you guys are purebloods right? So shouldn't you guys be related to the Malfoys."

"Barely," Mrs. Weasley spoke quickly as the two boys sat down at the long wooden table and the other redheaded children and Mr. Weasley made there way to the table.

"So were you invited?" Harry asked.

"Harry," Fred cautioned who was a few years older than Harry and twin to George who sat next to Fred. Harry didn't know what he was trying to warn.

"Yes, but Harry, dear, I don't think we're very welcome," Mrs. Weasley said softly as she sat a basket of biscuits onto the table.

"Mrs. Weasley," Harry insisted. "Sirius says that the Malfoy's are trying to be good people and that we should make the effort and meet them halfway."

"Harry." This time the warning came from both Fred and Charlie who was the second eldest Weasley child. Harry still didn't understand.

"I suppose..." Mrs. Weasley said slowly.

"And you always say it's important to be kind to people even when they haven't always been kind to you. Did you mean that?" Harry asked.

"Of course!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "Oh Arthur, the boy has a point."

"Yes, he does," Mr. Weasley began.

"Harry!" That time the warning came from all the Weasley children which included (eldest ot youngest): Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and the only girl at a year younger than Ron, Ginny.

"What?" Harry finally asked but it was too late.

"Alright, we'll go," Mr. Weasley declared. All the children sighed.

"Oh grand," George said sarcastically. "Maybe they'll teach me how to bewitch a cat."

"Please George," Mrs. Weasley. Harry became quickly aware that the Weasley children wanted to go about as much as Harry did but they weren't mad at Harry and he felt better knowing there would be more friendly faces there.

**A/N: That's my first chapter! I'm sorry if there are any mistakes! Comment, please. Oh and the second chapter will be up tomorrow! I just have to edit it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.  
A/N:Thank you for the reviews! I think five in one day is pretty awesome for a first chapter so thank you! Keep 'em coming!  
As promised,**

**Chapter 2:**

"Harry James Potter, it was none of your buisness as to whether or not the Weasley's would attend the Malfoy's dinner," Remus scolded Harry as the two sat at the living room in Grimmauld Place with Sirius who was trying not to look amused.

"I don't see the problem. All I really did was ask them why they weren't coming and now they are," Harry reasoned and Sirius chuckled a bit.

"Sirius, this is not amusing," quipped a neatly brown haired Remus.

"Oh Moony, lighten up. At least Harry here's a bit more willing to go. I thought I was going to have to drag him there," Sirius mused. Moony was Remus' nickname amongst his select friends that knew he was a werewolf. Sirius' nickname was Padfoot because of his Animagus (ability to transform into an animal) form was a dog.

Remus shook his head. "Honestly, you both could use several lessons in manners."

"I have manners," Harry defended and Remus was amused.

"If you do, you certainly didn't learn them from Padfoot," Remus joked.

"Hey," Sirius defended weakly as all three chuckled lightly. "Oh and Harry, I hate to tell you this but we've got to go shopping again." Harry's laughter ceased immediately.

"Aw no, Sirius," Harry whined. "We _just_ went."

"I know bud, but you're dress robes I bought you last time ended up being to big and they _still _don't fit. So I gave it Mrs. Weasley for Ron because I don't see it fitting you anytime soon."

Harry pouted. "This stinks."

"Harry, I don't know why you dislike shopping so much. It's not that awful," Sirius reasoned.

"Oh please, Padfoot," Remus stepped in. "_He _doesn't like it because he knows _you_ don't like to shop."

"That's not true," Sirius lied. "I like it just fine."

"No you don't," Harry and Remus said simultaneously causing them all to laugh once more.

The rest of the week went by far too quickly for Harry's liking. Sirius and Harry had gone shopping for new dress robes for the both of them and it had gone well enough though Harry grumbled through most of the measuring Madam Malkin's had to do. While there they had run into Mr. Weasley who was there on his lunch hour from the Ministry of Magic to buy himself new attire for the event as well. Soon enough Friday had rolled around and Sirius was forcing Harry into his very nice dress robes.

"Sirius, this is going to be awful," Harry complained as Sirius tied Harry's black tie.

"It _will _be awful if you go with this attitude. Just relax and try to enjoy yourself and you just might. Ron will be there so if you really can't get along with Draco you'll still have Ron to talk to."

"I guess," Harry grumbled.

"But," Sirius added. "I still expect you to be on your best behavior. I'm sure the Malfoy's worked hard to put this together and you need to be respectful of that. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Well, I think you're ready. I'm going to go put on my tie and I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes, alright?"

"Okay," Harry agreed reluctantly and then he was alone in his room. His bedroom was a decent sized room painted a subtle golden color with a four-poster bed, a wardrobe, a small desk, and decorated in all sorts of Gryffindor memorability which was his favorite of the four Houses at Hogwarts (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin) and the House he hoped to one day be sorted into.

Harry quickly opened his wardrobe and grabbed a bit of candy from his secret stash under his spare blanket. At least he and Ron could enjoy some sweets. He his the candy in his robes and went downstairs to meet Sirius in the living room by the fire place where he awaited with the bowl of floo powder.

"Are you ready, Harry?" Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged. "I guess."

Sirius reached out his hand. "Hold my hand, bud. I don't want you falling." Harry took Sirius' hand and Sirius sat the floo bowl on top of the fireplace before grabbing a handful of the powder and leading Harry into the fireplace. "Malfoy Manor," Sirius pronounced clearly and dropped the powder. Harry quickly shut his eyes and squeezed Sirius' hand as he felt a tight suction and a _**WHISH **_of strong air against his skin as he could no longer feel his feet on the ground and then with a **PLOP **his feet were on the ground again. He quickly opened his eyes and he was standing in the posh fireplace of the entirely huge and equally posh living room of Malfoy Manor. They quickly stepped out of the fireplace where they were immediately created by Dobby the house elf who had always been Harry's favorite person at the Malfoy's. Dobby was loyal and kind. He had a few quirks but Harry thouroughly enjoyed his company.

"Hello, Master Black and Harry Potter. May I take your coats?" Dobby asked politely.

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said as he handed his jacket to Dobby. Sirius elected to hold on to his. "It's nice to see you Dobby." Dobby blushed which was a major improvement. The first time Harry had complimented Dobby, the elf had been so surprised that he deliberately banged his head repeatedly against the wall. Now he merely responded shyly,

"Thank you, Harry Potter. Dobby thinks it's nice to see you as well."

"Alright Harry, let's go say hello to the Malfoy's," said Sirius.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Okay. I'll come talk to you later on, Dobby." Dobby nodded happily and Sirius led Harry through the already growing crowd of people to wear Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy stood at the other end of the room.

"Hello, Lucius. Narcissa. It's good to see you," Sirius greeted. Mr. Malfoy was a tall man with long bond hair and Mrs. Malfoy was several inches shorter with graying hair.

"Oh, hello Sirius. We're so glad you could make it," Mr. Malfoy greeted and Harry couldn't help but notice that he didn't seem to be acting unkind.

"We're glad to be here," Sirius replied.

"It's good to see you as well, Harry. You look very nice," Mrs. Malfoy complimented and now Harry blushed.

"Thank you," Harry murmured quietly.

"Yes, the boy looks quite strapping," said Mr. Malfoy. "Harry, my boy Draco is over there with the Weasley child," he told, gesturing to a sitting area in the corner. Sure enough, Draco, who was merely a smaller version of Mr. Malfoy, sat in the corner. Harry was _very _happy to see that Ron was amongst them.

"Oh, thanks," Harry murmured and quickly headed over to the group of children, abandoning Sirius. "Hello," Harry greeted as he came up to the two.

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed happily and gestured for Harry to sit next to him the pristine white couch and Harry did so gratefully. "Draco was just talking about his Nimbus 1998!"

"Really?" Harry asked, a bit surprised. "I've got one to. You fly?"

Draco nodded. "I love to."

"Harry and I fly all the time. Harry's really good. I do okay but I've only got a Cleansweep," Ron informed.

"Do you guys play Quidditch?" Draco asked and Harry piped up,

"I love Quidditch! I wanna be a seeker one day."

"Really?" Now, Draco was surprised. "Me too. We should all play Quidditch together one day. Do you like Quidditch too, Ron?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I wanna be a Chaser."

"Cool," Draco replied and he looked around. "This dinner's going to be awful. The food they serve at these things are disgusting."

"Great," Ron muttered. "I'm starving."

"Oh wait!" Harry exclaimed. "I've got tons of candy." Harry opened his robe and showed them his pocket full of candy.

"Awesome," Ron said. "What are you waiting for! Give us some."

Harry divided up the candy and soon the boys were munching on chocolate frogs, Bert's every flavor beans, lemon drops (given to him at Christmas by Albus Dumbledore), and a few Pumpkin Pasties.

"This is great, thanks," Draco said.

"No problem. Hey Ron, where are the rest of the Weasleys?"

"Well," Ron said as he popped a bean into his mouth. "Bill and Charlie are watching Ginny and Fred and George mad some device that blew up one of the toilets so they have to stay home and clean it up. Mum and Dad are around here somewhere with Percy. If you ask me, Percy was a bit too excited about this."

"How come?" Draco asked.

"Percy wants to work in the Ministry," Ron explained. "He thinks this is a good way to make 'connections' or something."

Draco shrugged. "It probably is."

Soon after, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy announced that dinner was served and they all made their way to the dining room which housed a table long enough to serve the over forty people there. Draco, Ron, and Harry sat at one end of the table away from the adults. Harry caught Sirius' eye and smiled at him. This was not as bad as Harry had thought. Sirius was sitting at the other end of the table with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Percy, and Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. In between were many people Harry had never met before.

Draco was right. The food was disgusting. The main courses were various seafoods that Harry didn't recognize. There was also broccoli on the children's plate which none of them enjoyed. The good news was the mashed potatoes which the children ate all of. They picked at the rest of the meal, moving the broccoli around and taste testing the seafood which they admitted wasn't too awful but it wasn't great either. The rest of the table seemed to be enjoying the food quite well which only befuddled the children. Still, Harry ate as much of the food as possible as he didn't want to look ungrateful.

Dobby eventually came around and Harry talked to him for a moment and when Ron asked Dobby not to call him Master Ronald, Dobby had responded,

"Yes, Master Weasley." Harry and Draco had chuckled as Ron grew red.

"No, please don't call me that."

"Yes, Mister Weasley."

Ron sighed. "No, just Ron, please."

"Yes, Mister Ron." Harry and Draco chuckled.

"Ron you should let it go before Dobby starts calling you Miss Ron." Draco and Harry bursted with laughter and after a moment even Ron couldn't help but laugh.

The dinner had turned out to be rather pleasant for Harry, aside from the food. When Sirius came to take him home he almost wanted to stay. Instead, he made plans with Draco and Ron to come back in a few days and play Quidditch.

Once they were home, Harry caught Sirius smirking at him. "What?" Harry asked.

"You enjoyed yourself," Sirius said smugly.

"Did not," Harry defended weakly.

"Did so."

"Did not."

Sirius chuckled. "I'll let you in on a secret: I enjoyed myself to."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Yes and the food was amazing," Sirius said as he took of his coat and hung it up. Harry shook his head, not understanding how anyone had enjoyed the food.

"Draco invited Ron and I to play Quidditch with him on Monday," Harry informed.

"He did?" Sirius asked as he untied his tie and then began to help Harry untie his own black tie.

"Yeah...can I go?"

Sirius smiled. "Sure thing. See, I told you you enjoyed yourself. You even want to see him again."

"I did not," Harry defended with a smile.

"You did so," Sirius said with a chuckle as Harry began to head up stairs to change.

"Did not."

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Oh, you did so! Now, I'll be up in a minute to tuck you in."

Harry changed into a plaid pair of pajamas and brushed his teeth before climbing into bed. Sirius came to his room a few moment later out of dress robes and dressed in his boxers and a white pajama shirt.

"You want me to read with you a bit?" Sirius asked and Harry nodded. Sirius grabbed the Tales of Beedle the Bard off the nightstand and sat down on the bed. "Where were we last time?"

"We were just starting _The Warlock's Hairy Heart_."

"Oh yeah. _'There once was a handsome, rich, and talented young warlock...'_" Sirius would read a bit and then have Harry read a bit and the two would trade off.

It wasn't long though until Sirius looked up from a passage, intending to trade with Harry once more to find him deep in slumber. Sirius sat the book on the nightstand, kissed Harry's forehead and murmured,

"Goodnight, bud." Sirius then made his way to his own room where he was soon asleep as well.

**A/N: There we go! I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review! I'm almost finished with Chapter 3 so it should be up tomorrow! See you then!**


	3. Chapter 3

Harry and Draco never became best friends or anything. Draco was a bit snobbish as it turned out but he was generally an alright person. The two, along with Ron did become friends but it was no sort of special friendship or anything. At best, they were close cousins and that was enough to please both Harry and Sirius though if Sirius were to be honest, he didn't actually care who Harry made friends with and before the Malfoy dinner, Sirius had no real intention of attending one of those dinners again. It had been Dumbledore's idea. Dumbledore thought it would be good for Harry to see that old grudges did not need to be held onto. Sirius did discover that he did not find the Malfoy's as insufferable as he used to. They were borderline pleasant. Borderline.

Still, every once and awhile Harry would get together with Draco, usually with Ron as well, and play Quidditch or eat sweets. They even had a couple sleepovers. Ron would always be Harry's best friend though. In fact as time grew on, Ron and Harry grew even closer as friends while Draco and Harry remained the same.

Harry Potter's 9th Birthday

Harry was very excited to be turning nine. It wasn't so much the actual birthday that excited Harry but all that came with it. The guest list for his party was quite extensive: all the Weasley's, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom (who had become loose friends with Harry over the years) and Neville's grandmother, Remus, Hagrid (who was large half-giant with long black hair that had been a long family friend who Harry loved very much. He was also the games keeper at Hogwarts), Professor/Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and Professor Minerva McGonagall (who was among those that frequently checked upon Harry after his parents death).

Harry enjoyed having all the kind people around him. It made him feel loved. The cake and gifts were just a nice bonus. On the morning of his birthday he awoke early despite the fact that his party was until six o'clock that evening. He awoke so early in fact that Sirius was still in bed. Unsure has to how Sirius could still be sleeping on such an exciting day. So being the slightly mischievous boy that he was, Harry snuck quietly into Sirius' room and proceeded to jump onto his bed over and over exclaiming,

"Sirius! Sirius! Wake up, Padfoot! Come on, wake up!" Sirius grunted and his eyes slowly opened. Harry plopped down next to him and was temporarily worried that Sirius would be angry with him but then Sirius smiled, chuckled, and murmured,

"Happy birthday, Harry."

"Thank you," Harry replied. "Now, get up!"

"I would but there really is something I've got to do first," Sirius said coyly.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"Oh, I've got to...tickle you!" Sirius tackled Harry and proceeded to tickle him.

"Padfoot...this is isn't...hehe...funny...hehe...stop..it...hehe." Sirius slowly stopped tickling Harry, allowing him to take deep breaths.

"That's for waking me up so early," Sirius said as he chuckled and pulled Harry into a light hug. Harry's breathing slowed. "Now get so that I can change. Take a shower and I'll meet you at the breakfast table."

"Okay," Harry answered and slid of the bed. He took a shower as quick as he could and changed into a red t-shirt, jeans, and his casual robe. By the time he made it downstairs, he could smell french toast being made. "It smells amazing in here!" Harry exclaimed as he sat down at the table and Sirius placed the french toast on the table.

"Good," Sirius replied. "There's bacon as well."

Harry quickly ate his delicious breakfast and was thin faced with a problem. His party didn't start till six! That was nearly eleven hours away. He didn't know how he would survive or what to do with his time. Things were very slow and Harry didn't know how he would survive but at lunch when Sirius made Harry's favorite (pot roast) he let Harry go out flying afterwards, partly because he wanted the boy to have a fun day and partly because Harry was driving the man mad with his constant questioning about how long until the party started. Harry was out for nearly three hours, thoroughly enjoying himself. Sirius eventually called him in because the boy would need to shower once more and change again as Harry had skidded into the dirt twice.

Harry was very surprised to see that while he was out Remus had arrived and Remus and Sirius had decorated the living room with red, silver, and yellow streamers and balloons. There was also a silver sign that hung over the fireplace and read in large black letters 'Happy Birthday, Harry!'

"Wow, this is awesome," Harry cheered.

"Remus is mostly to blame. He did most of the work," Sirius replied.

"Thanks, Uncle Remus," Harry exclaimed and gave Remus a hug before giving Sirius one as well.

"It was no problem," said Remus.

"Go get showered. It won't be long until people arrive."

People began arriving right at six and the pizza's Sirius had ordered arrived just after. Everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves, no one more than Harry, though Draco rivaled a close second. He had exclaimed,

"Harry, this is so cool! My parties are never like this. Pizza!"

Ron was quite enthusiastic as well. "You know, I bet you'll get loads of candy!"

This ended up being quite true. After a delicious serving of cake and a round of 'For He's A Jolly Good Fellow' he was opening gifts and among the first was a small box of lemon drops from Dumbledore.

"I thought you might be running low," Dumbledore reasoned.

"Oh, yeah, thanks! The last batch is gone now."

"You ate all those lemon drops?" Mrs. Weasley admonished in disbelief.

"Er...no?" Harry replied and the room shook lightly of laughter with the exception of Mrs. Weasley who shook her head with disapproval though a smile peaked at the corner of her lips.

From the Weasley's he received a Quidditch set to which he was quite grateful as the one he had was very worn. Draco gave him a box set of chocolate frogs. Professor McGonagall gave him a quill and a journal and informed him that only he would be able to see what he wrote in the journal. Remus, ever the practical one, gifted him with a set of quills and ink in various colors. Sirius gave him a box full of nearly every joke and prank offered at Gambol and Japes. Hagrid gave him what had to be the most exciting gift of all: a white egg wrapped in a cloth and sitting in a cage. When Harry looked up at him, quite befuddled, Hagrid explained,

"Why that there's an owl egg 'arry. Keep it wrapped up in the blanket and in just a few weeks you'll have yourself an owl. Don't 'orry, I teach ya how to care for the bird."

"Woah! Thank you, Hagrid!" Harry thanked and wrapped his arms around Hagrid. "I've never seen an owl egg before."

Hagrid blushed. "You're welcome, Harry."

"That's amazing," Sirius murmured as he got a closer look at the egg. Soon everyone was crowded around the egg. They all awed over the egg for a while and then the party was over. Hagrid left with the promise of returning tomorrow to teach Harry about caring for owls. It wasn't long until everyone had said goodbye to Harry and Sirius and he were left alone.

"Well," Sirius sighed as he stared at the fireplace. "I think this was a success, don't you Harry?" When he got no response, Sirius turned around to discover Harry curled up on the couch, deep in slumber. Sirius smiled, shook his head and walked over to the boy, slowly picking him up and carrying the young boy to his bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

"Harry James Potter!" Sirius called in disbelief as he stared at Harry's room. He had come to collect Harry's laundry but he was shocked by what he saw: clothes scattered everywhere, his bed unmade, various toys all over the floor instead of the toy chest, and a few candy wrappers that had missed the trash by several feet.

Harry ran to the door. He had just come in from flying. When he saw his godfathers face he seriously considered running down the stairs and back outside.

"Hey," he said innocently.

"'Hey'? Harry, I have told you twice to clean up this room and Remus reminded you yesterday. _Why _isn't this room clean?" Sirius asked.

"Um..." Harry couldn't seem to come up with a quick excuse to get himself out of trouble.

"Well?"

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I was gonna clean yesterday but then I wanted to go flying and I was about to do it this morning but...I went flying again and..." he trailed off because he realized this was a pitiful defense.

"Harry, when I tell you to do something, I expect it to get done. Harry, I love that you enjoy flying but I'm not going to let it effect your chores," Sirius responded sternly.

"I'll clean it now, I promise," said Harry.

Sirius nodded. "Yes, you will because you aren't leaving this room until it's clean. As punishment for not cleaning your room when I repeatedly asked you and going flying instead: no flying for a week."

"Aw, Padfoot, no!" Harry whined. He used every chance he got to fly and a week with no flying would be filled with boredom.

"Yes. Sorry, bud. Now, clean your room," Sirius ordered gently before closing the door.

Harry was pretty bummed about not being able to fly and therefore he dragged his feet quite a bit in cleaning his room. He picked up his laundry and put it in his basket and then he took a break to play with his owl who had hatched nearly two months ago and had flown for the first time a week or so ago. The owl was a Snowy White, female owl and Harry adored her. Her cage was nearly the only thing Harry kept clean though that was mainly because any time he let the cage get dirty, the owl pecked at him. Harry had named the owl, Hedwig. He liked the name quite a lot and had come across it while flipping through _Hogwarts: A History._

Harry spoke to the owl for a few moments about how unfair it was that he couldn't fly his broom but this conversation was cut short by Hedwig beginning to squawk and peck at his finger so Harry opened the window and door to the cage and Hedwig went out flying. Harry couldn't thing a bit begrudgingly that it wasn't fair that Hedwig could fly and he couldn't.

With no one else to keep him company he continued his cleaning. One floor below him Sirius sat in the living room, utterly bored without Harry. He wished Harry had just cleaned his room last night. Truthfully, Sirius didn't mind a little clutter but Harry's room had become ridiculously messy. Sirius wanted nothing more than to go upstairs, tell Harry to forget his room, and take him out flying. Of course, Sirius knew that would be an awful idea. Sirius had to keep Harry humble. The last thing he wanted was for Harry to develop a big head. So, Sirius sighed and wrote a letter to Moony to occupy his time. Once Harry focused, it wasn't much longer until his room was clean and he was running downstairs.

"Padfoot! I'm finished," Harry exclaimed proudly as he he found Sirius in the living room sitting on the couch.

Sirius smiled and wrapped Harry in a hug. "Awesome, bud! I'm going to go get your laundry and then we can make lunch, alright?"

"Sounds good."

Sirius was very happy to find Harry's room neat and organized. He took Harry's laundry, put it in the washing machine and headed to the kitchen with Harry where together they made a lunch of stew and ham sandwiches. The rest of the day went by in a breeze and Harry was glad to see his godfather was no longer upset with him though he still wished he could go flying. Still, as long as Sirius wasn't angry, Harry supposed he could wait a week to fly.

Of course, a mere day later, Harry was begging to go flying. It was very disheartening to Harry that Sirius was remaining firm. Harry grew so bored that he even resorted to reading which was something he almost never did outside of bedtime stories. He managed to read a full two chapters of _Hogwarts: A History _before becoming even more bored. The week continued on slowly and by some miracle, Harry survived his week with no flying and couldn't have been more excited when he was able to grab his broom and go play Quidditch with his Sirius.

* * *

It was another month or so before Harry did anything wrong. Harry was actually pretty proud of himself for lasting so long. He was usually in and out of trouble on a semi regular bases. Remus had once joked that it would be easier if Harry could just schedule out a part of the month to be mischievous. The whole situation started with Harry and Ron writing letters to each other. Hedwig was very good at delivering letters which was good because Ron's old owl, Errol , was not. With letters came scheming. Ron and Harry realized that with all the flying they'd done, they had never done much distance flying, especially not on their own.

Still, they weren't daring enough to think two nine year olds venturing out on there own was a good idea so in order to do this they got the help of the only two people that would be helpful and willing: Fred and George. They loved jokes and pranks and all around mischievousness. Fred and George were only too eager to take place in this scheme and they even pointed out that if we all wanted to off flying on our own without getting caught it was best to go at night after everyone thought they had gone to sleep. Harry usually knew he was bound to get caught for this kind of thing but this time he actually felt he might get away with it.

Harry already spent the night at the Weasley's every few weeks anyway so when he asked to spend the night, Sirius wasn't surprised and agreed easily.

"Oh Harry, it's so good to see you," Mrs. Weasley had greeted when he arrived with Sirius.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley."

"Are you sure it's alright for him to stay, Molly?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, of course. Harry's welcome here anytime, isn't that right Harry?" Harry beamed at her. "Now go on home, Sirius. Harry dinner should be ready anytime. You look a bit peckish." Mrs. Weasley left the two at the fireplace and resumed her cooking in the kitchen.

"She thinks everyone looks peckish," Sirius said amused. "Now be good for the Weasley's, okay?"

"Yeah, Padfoot," Harry lied.

"Good. have fun and if you need anything, I'm just a fireplace away."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too." They hugged and then Sirius stepped back into the fireplace. Harry found Ron sitting in the living room.

"We all set?" He asked.

"Yeah. We're set," Ron responded conspiratorially.

Dinner was delicious as it always was and a few hours later Mrs. Weasley was ushering them to bed. In order to not raise suspicion Harry and Ron were sure to put up a bit of a fuss over going to bed but eventually settled down for the night. Or so Mrs. Weasley thought. Two hours later they were up out of bed, creeping down the stairs along side the twins. Ever so carefully they pushed open the back door and silently made there way to the shed were all the brooms were kept. There were about six brooms in total, all of them Cleansweeps which were fairly dependable. Fred opened the shed with a key that Harry had no idea how he got. No one spoke a word as they each mounted a broom and flew away.

Amazing. For Harry, it was one of the most free feelings in the world. The breeze brushed ferociously against his unruly hair and his lips curled into a large smile. He glanced at his friends and they all wore similar expressions. It was the freedom of not only defying odds but also being so high made everything else, every little problem, seem insignificant.

"This is the best!" Ron called.

"I know!" Harry agreed.

"There's definitely something to this," George gave his input.

They flew around for hours, enjoying the few, flying in loops and making flips. It wasn't until they gotten over Diagon Alley that they turned around as that was a bit far from the Weasley's. They got home and, just as quietly, put the brooms back exactly where they found them, and made there ways to bed feeling utterly exhilarated and yet worn out. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were still sound asleep as was the rest of the house, including Percy which was a relief as he was a major rat. As Harry laid in bed, moment away from sleep, he felt just a twang of pride. They had gotten away with it and it had been wonderful.


End file.
